US judge to hear lawsuit of man deported to El Salvador in error

5/4/2025 6:13

A U.S. judge in Maryland is scheduled to hear arguments on Friday over the erroneous deportation of a Salvadoran man who was flown to El Salvador last month as part of an agreement by President Donald Trump's administration with that country's government to detain alleged gang members.



Attorneys for the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, will ask U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis at a 1 p.m. hearing to force the administration to ask El Salvador to return him to the U.S. and bar the government from continuing to pay El Salvador to detain him.



The U.S. has acknowledged Abrego Garcia’s deportation was made in error, but said it had no legal authority to bring himback to the country.



The hearing in the Greenbelt, Maryland, federal court will mark another flashpoint in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.



Trump on March 15 invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The administration said it sent two flights to ElSalvador that day carrying deportees processed under the rarely used wartime statute and a third flight carrying people deported

under other rules.